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I thought I would put the word out that I am looking for a new domain name for this auto blog. You might have seen that yesterday I have been online for 3 years, which is a big milestone for me. Since this is such a big milestone I thought I would consider another buying another domain name so I can expand this blog. Like a lot of people I choose a domain name because;

It was available

I thought it made sense

It seemed catchy

While I still like the name “Adam's Auto Advice” I think that it doesn't reflect where I wan to take this blog as a site and it doesn't make sense. Since it was available for the $10 registration fee it didn't seem like a big deal to me. I think the name is catchy at least.

So if you have a domian name that is auto related and would be ideal for this blog let me know. I am mainly looking for these keywords in a domain;

Car / Cars

Auto / Autos

Motor / Motors

Preferably the domain should be two words and no longer than 15 letters long. My budgets is $50 but I might go higher for the right domain name. If you think you have something to offer please visit my contact page and let me know via email. I am glad to take offers from domainers and any web entrepreneurs.

Changing to a new domain can be a challenging and exciting experience, but hopefully I am making the right choice.

Lots of advocates and politicians want to put a stop to drunk driving, but in Ireland they are taking a bit of a different approach to drunk driving at least in Kerry County, which is located in the South Western part of the Ireland. Councilman Danny Healy-Rae actually put forward a motion to legalize drunk driving. His reasoning behind this is that in rural areas people don't have an easy way to get to and from their home without using a car. Public transportation isn't easy to use for these people, so it makes sense to let them drive drunk.

“A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there’s no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night in and night out, because they don’t want to take the risk of losing their licence,” said Councilman Danny Healy-Rae. “The pub is invariably the only social outlet left in rural Ireland and they’re getting scarce now – just one or two in every village.”

The current maximum blood-alcohol level is 50mg per 100ml of blood for most drivers and 20mg for learner and professional drivers. Although it varies depending on driver, this is roughly equivalent to less than one pint of beer. The level of fatalities on Irish roads dropped significantly over the past five years with the introduction of lower alcohol limits for drivers and alcohol checkpoints.

The motion passed put forward by Councilman Dan Healey-Rae passed the council vote 5 votes to 3. Healey-Rae understands the opposition and it still requires Government approval. If passed the people of Kerry County would be given special permits to drive drunk. It seems this is an important issue for Healey-Rae. I think we probably know why though.

I guess to a certain degree this makes sense. Living in Baltimore city it is much easier to get around if you are tipsy. Still… legalizing drunk driving? Guinness is my favorite beer so maybe I could just move to Ireland along with a bunch of bros! 🙂

Leave your thoughts and opinions about this below. I am sure people will have a lot to share regarding this story.

Preparing Yourself and Your Car for Hurricane

With Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm, bearing down upon the entire Eastern seaboard and many states getting slammed by heavy rain and wind, I am sure lots of people are wondering what they could have done to prepare for a hurricane better. An important consideration is that your vehicle can be damaged easily during hurricanes, it's important to try to do all you can to protect this valuable asset.

I recommend parking your car as close to your house as possible and in the driveway. The reason is if a lot of home insurance policies will cover damage to a vehicle from trees or debris if it close to a house. This varies on what type of policy you have though. If you have a garage, carport, or some other structure you can park your can that would be the most ideal place to park it. That is certainly not guarantee but is a safe bet.

Obviously though your car is not the only consideration for preparing for a hurricane during hurricane season. Here are some tips to get hurricane ready;

Food: Make sure to have enough food for your whole family. This includes any pets you might have in your family. We have dry dog food and canned dog food that will last our dogs, Cody and Sierra, awhile.

Water: You also need to have clean drinking water too. It is recommend to have 1 gallon of clean water per day. If you are not sure if you have enough, at least have a teapot and heat source so that you can boil and sanitize drinking water if necessary.

First Aid: It’s always good to have a First Aid Kit in case of an emergency. You never know when you might need it. I recommend having hydrogen peroxide (for disinfecting wounds), bandages and gauze, cloth tape, needles, gloves, ointment, and a blanket. It is also a good idea to have a first aid booklet handy as well.

Medications: Make sure to get any medications for your family filled before you need to hunker down at your house or go to a shelter.

Emergency Contacts: Keep an emergency contact list. This includes, relatives, doctors, veterinarians,(if you have pets), or friends. Make sure to know about the nearest nearest shelter if you need to evacute your area due to flooding. If you have pets, be sure to find a pet-friendly shelter.

Rain Gear, Towels, & Clothes: Try not to go outside if you can help it, but it's always good to have a poncho and rain gear in case you do. It's a good idea to have as much clean clothes as you can too.

Cash: Cash, and I mean the real green stuff, is good to have in case power is going to be out for awhile.

Flashlights, Batteries, and Candles: It’s good to have flashlights and batteries if you are going to be without power for a long time. I would also recommend having short stubby candles since they are less likely to tip over and cause a fire. Matches are a good idea to have too!

Full Tank of Gas: If gas stations don’t have power, they can’t sell gas. It’s a good idea to fill up your car’s gas tank if you need to go somewhere with your family.

You should also consider having a spare flashlight with batteries, blanket, and first aid kit in your car if you need to venture out. It's best to not drive during a hurricane, and you have been told not to, you shouldn't.

I hope these tips will help you prepare for Hurricane Sandy, Frankenstorm, or any other hurricane in the future. If you have any recommendations, tips, or advice about hurricane preparedness you would like to add, please leave a comment below.

Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee attracts a wide range of vehicles every Saturday. This includes exotics, classic, tuners, motorcycles, race cars, and anything else you can think of.

Here is a great picture gallery kindly provided by Jack Moschetto of Gypsy Jack Racing. You can usually find him at Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee with his beautiful and very customized blue Yamaha R1. I would have used some of my pictures, but his photography skills are much better then mine!

Last Friday I attended the 2012 WAPA (Washington Automotive Press Association) Rally at Indigo Landing. The WAPA Rally was quite a lot of fun and I got to test drive a lot of cool cars, all on the same day! The vehicles I got to drive at the 2012 WAPA Rally included the Lexus GS350, Mecedes-Benz GLK, Ford Escape, Hyundai Veloster, Jaguar XF, Kia Optima, and the Subaru BRZ. I probably would have driven more cars if I had gotten to the WAPA Rally on time. I got held-up on the I-83 on ramp heading South, due to this.

Not sure how this Honda Accord got into an accident, just glad I didn't get into an accident getting on the freeway. Anyway I drove about 1/4 of the vehicles there that were available to drive. I wanted to drive the BMW 640i, Audi A8L, Dodge Dart, and VW Golf but most of these were being driven by other auto journalists. I just didn't have time to test drive them all but hopefully I will be have a chance in the future.

By far my favorite car that I drove at the WAPA Rally was the Subaru BRZ. The handling is tight, acceleration amazing, and the car seemed to fit me like a glove. I joked with a guy who came back from driving the Subaru BRZ, “I was almost tempted to drive it home!” his reply “Oh yeah! Me too!” I only wish it was a stick shift. The PR rep from ESI, the company that was handling the fleet vehicles, said they have a Scion FR-S (same car as the Subaru BRZ) that is a stick shift but most are automatics.

Subaru BRZ- Beautiful!Subaru BRZ – Beautiful Behind!

The car I was most impressed would have to be the Kia Optima. Compared to other Kias I have driven the Optima I was drove actually felt like a car and not a toy car. Kia has definitely stepped up their game and it showed. The Optima wasn't fast, but was agile and responsive and the interior was quite nice. My only gripe would be the audio and navigation controls are a little confusing. Still I am sure the other PR reps were looking over at the Kia and thinking, “How did Kia get that good so fast?” That is something everyone is wondering.

The Ford Escape Titanium I drove was also much better then any other Ford SUV I have driven in the past. The interior felt plush and well-appointed and the handling wasn't bad either. It still felt like an SUV but a capable small SUV which is exactly what Ford was aiming for. At $33,000 for the Ford Escape Titanium model I drove, I guess you get what you pay for.

My favorite luxury car at the WAPA Rally was definitely the Jaguar XF. I mean it just looks sooo pretty and when you get in you feel great about yourself. In my opinion this is just what luxury car should do. The Jaguar XF also felt fast and responsive compared to some of the other luxury cars I drove at the WAPA Rally. It's not a driver's car, but it sure fools you. Like most people, I don't like the dial shifter for changing gears. Seems cool at first until you use it. If I owned a Jaguar XF I feel I would go into the wrong gear by accident a lot.

After the driving the cars there was a nice catered lunch. Jessica Anderson, President of WAPA, handed out awards for Best Tweet, Best Picture, and a few other awards I can't remember. You got points for filling out a questionnaire and driving as many cars as you could. As well you were supposed to spot WAPA signs that were set out on the 3 different driving routes. Apparently there were 10 but I only noticed 3. Also I hardly took any pictures or tweeted since I was focused on driving as many vehicles as possible. I guess I was having too much fun!

Hyundai VelosterWAPA Rally

I love my Toyota Camry since it is a great and reliable car. However, it is a bit disappointing when you get back into your own car after having driven so many other cars you want to own, all on the same day!